Storyline

On the Rocks, the debut feature by prolific Los Angeles filmmakers Alex Kavutskiy & Ariel Gardner, is the story of recovering alcoholic Dallas (Chase Fein) and his very-much-still-drinking wife Karen (Nichole Bagby), a young working class married couple in a tumultuous relationship. After his father dies, Dallas moves himself and Karen into his childhood home, ready to start the next chapter of their lives. Unfortunately, Dallas's attempts at stability and growth are constantly undercut by Karen's immaturity, her family's intrusion, and the demands of his work life. Every slight hiccup in their lives seems to suddenly escalate into an emergency. Seeking refuge from the insanity, Dallas finds himself pursuing the affections of a woman he meets at an AA meeting. On the Rocks is a frenetically-paced tightrope act of comedy and drama with tour-de-force performances from a goldmine of up-and-coming actors.Written by
Jim Jam Abrahams

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The chandelier in living room is particularly low in the film. This is based on the filmmakers real house with the same chandelier inside it. When moving in they noticed it was particularly low, so when building the full scale set for the feature, they thought it would be a funny reference to lower the chandelier in the living room. See more »

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User Reviews

Indies usually fall flat with one dimensional characters that have strong desires backed by zero motive. They swear unnecessarily, they make huge life decisions at every turn, they make themselves cry because drama, and they have sex with each other because directors think audiences are dumb, easily manipulated perverts that can only relate to emotional intimacy through crying and coitus...

Alex and Ariel push back against this standard of 'Lifetime soap movie of the week' indie fare and construct chaotic, tumultuous (i.e. rocky) situations that feel authentic and have real consequences. This is also a credit to the wonderful acting work done by an up and coming ensemble cast.

You will laugh, you will cringe, and crying is optional because these directors give their audience and cast enough credit to react appropriately to the world they have created.

If I had to sum up On The Rocks in lay terms, I would say it is like if Robert Altman had smoked crack cocaine and made a movie.

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